All this is becoming too much of a project for what will likely be a
 one-time event for my plane.  If I plan to do any serious competition at
 Reno in future years.  I need: a new airframe with less drag and a higher
 Vne (most likely dedicated to racing), a 3 or 4 rotor, more time, and more
 money  :-)

 --
 David Leonard

 Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY
 http://N4VY.RotaryRoster.net <http://n4vy.rotaryroster.net/
 http://RotaryRoster.net <http://rotaryroster.net/


 I am thinking of putting retractable gear on the RV4. I am sure I will get a
 lot of static from Van if he hears about it.  It is real easy to move the
 stock fuel tank outboard and add a root strake to house the wheel.  Much
 like a P51.  I will need to find a thiner wheel of some sort that will fit.

 With Mike's skinny cowl it will look just like a P40. Van warns about
 putting fuel in the outer wing panels as he is worried about increased the
 polar moment of inertia about a vertical axis in a spin.

 What he is not telling you is he failed to put a strake on the RV vertical
 stabilizer like almost every other airplane in the world has includuing
 most all Cessna's and the P51.  When the aircraft is in a spin a strake
 generates a powerful vortex and low pressure area on the down wind side of
 the strake tending to retard the spin.  That is easy to add to an RV as
 there is already a fiberglass fairing back there.

 I suspect a lot of RV'er would like to retrofit their RV's with retractable
 mains.

 Paul Lamar


 Paul,  It looks like you could use a ball screw to operate the gear and
 have an access hole for a manual crank on the sidewall of the cockpit as a
 backup if the motor is unoperative.

 george grimes

What would work great is an RX8 electric rack and pinion.
The motor is hollow with the ball screw passing through it.

Paul Lamar